marc faris composer, electric guitar | administrative director

marc faris (b. 1972) holds degrees in composition from the Eastman School of Music (BM ’94) and Duke University (MA ’00 and Ph.D. ’03). His primary teachers included Samuel Adler, Warren Benson, Scott Lindroth, Stephen Jaffe, Robert Morris and Joseph Schwantner. His music has been performed across the United States, and he has received awards and commissions from the Ciompi Quartet, the North Carolina Arts Council, North Carolina Governor’s School, ALEA III, the Chamber Music Conference and Composers Forum of the East, and others.

His compositional ethos is deeply informed by his interests in the social, political and cultural implications of musical style and competence. Equally fluent in art-music, popular and experimental performance traditions, he is committed to making meaningful connections with a broad musical community while still constructing rich, complex artistic statements. Recent works include Silver Smile for English horn, bassoon, electric guitar, electric bass and drums (premiered April 2007 by pulsoptional with many subsequent performances), Mountain Music for soprano saxophone and string quartet (premiered November 2006 by Branford Marsalis and the Ciompi Quartet), Social Movements for flute and piano (premiered October 2006 by Christopher Chaffee and Joshua Nemith), and a new arrangement of What Chaos Received Bounds (2004, rev. 2006) for the NYC avant-rock ensemble Electric Kompany.

In addition to his work as a composer of concert music, marc is also active in sound art, electronic composition and collaborative multimedia and experimental-theater productions; as an organizer of new-music events; and as an electric guitarist. marc is a founding member and co-director of pulsoptional. He is currently appointed as Teaching Assistant Professor in the School of Music at East Carolina University.

marc’s music is published by FuguFish Publishing and Goldbranch Music (ASCAP).